"Pieces of the Island"-An English Translation

Guido Sigler Amaya

Various distinguished members of the Cuban resistance have put together a new document in which they call on the unification of Cuba’s opposition. Among the representatives of these “principles for a new nation” are Oscar Elias Biscet, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, Guillermo Farinas, Librado Linares, Guido Sigler Amaya, and others. More than just a document, it is a clear sign that the Cuban opposition could unite to demand the same thing for all: absolute freedom.

Cuba was once a prosperous nation that counted on democratic institutions and a flourishing economy when it was compared to the rest of the world. The communist dictatorship destroyed not only its economic foundations, but also its moral structures. Now, as a new generation of Cubans, we are proposing the dismantling of this despicable system and the construction of a new nation founded on the recognized universal principles of peace, liberty, and the wellbeing of its people.

FROM DICTATORSHIP TO DEMOCRACY

The Cuban communist regime is a military dictatorship that has maintained power for more than fifty years through the use of terror, intimidation, lies, disinformation, demagoguery, political opportunism, and violence against its adversaries and even its own people.

The Castro hierarchy—first under the sole direction of Fidel Castro and later his brother Raul—has not only assumed political power, it has also extended its control to all spheres of national life, from the social to the economic. Everything is done to ensure the Cuban nation is a highly militarized society where no one is allowed to breathe even the most minimal vestige of liberty.

The Castro tyranny’s policy can be described without fear of exaggeration as one of genocide, which seeks the total extermination of its adversaries. Its actions speak for themselves:

—It has carried out hundreds of extrajudicial executions of its opponents and thousands more after trials without due process.

—It has imprisoned and arbitrarily repressed hundreds of thousands.

—It has violated individual rights enumerated in its own constitution.

—It has illegally confiscated without compensation hundreds of thousands of private properties.

—It has persecuted, imprisoned, and forcibly exiled hundreds of religious individuals of different beliefs.

—It has illegally abolished the Democratic Constitution of 1940 and has imposed the monstrous Communist Constitution of 1976.

—It has dismantled all the democratic institutions created by the nation during more than fifty years, and has violated the population’s most elemental civil and human rights.

—It has committed barbaric acts such as the sinking of the 13 de Marzo tugboat where dozens of men, women, and children were murdered.

—It executed three young men only for attempting to leave the country, and it criminally shot down two airplanes over international waters carrying four human rights activists on a mission to save lives in the Florida Straits.

—It has imprisoned dozens of peaceful opposition members, among them several intellectuals, journalists, and independent librarians during the Black Spring of 2003.

—It has used inhumane and degrading torture and cruelty against defenseless political prisoners in the country’s prisons.

—It has carried out massive arrests, beatings, and even assassinated those who opposed them, including women and children.

This has been the mind blowing panorama and the injustices suffered by the people of Cuba who have struggled, almost always alone, since 1959. To finally put an end to this lamentable state, at this moment a strong, non-violent civil movement is surging, proposing the reestablishment of civil society and winning back the rights and liberties of our people.

Democracy is not a dream, but a tangible reality that the Cuban people can obtain through non-violent civil struggle supported by ideas and procedures meticulously formulated by outstanding contemporary academics. The same give peaceful weapons to the population for the resistance against tyrannies, both current and future, and for the defense of their liberties.

This method utilizes psychological, social, economic, and political weapons to liberate the citizens from submission and obedience, allowing them to suppress the dictatorial government’s sources of power.

In other words, the non-violent civic struggle is a massive defiance of the regime, and it assumes the unity of democratic forces and those forces with the people.

The Fundamental Principles of this Declaration are:

Work towards a change to a democratic system based on a true State of Rights, and with a modern economy that is developed and highly efficient.

Achieve a transition based on constitutional norms that leads to the reestablishment of our traditional democratic institutions and all universally recognized liberties.

Strengthen the struggle for the respect of human rights, and achieve a society free of political prisoners.

Respect the fundamental rights established by the International Pact for Civil and Political Rights, as well as the right to life and the freedom of thought.

Encourage and strengthen unity among Cubans, regardless of where they live, based on fraternity and ethics as well as their individual relationships and the struggle we have before us.

Advocate and strengthen among the citizenry the method of non-violent civic struggle.

Create a free Cuba without ties to our recent past by the disintegration of the regime, and the eradication from the minds of our people the complacent attitude that has been predominate these past 52 years of tyranny.

Increase international solidarity with the Cuban people and support for its just struggle for the reestablishment of democracy.

Reaffirm that the Cuban people deserve a dignified life, where they can enjoy the liberties and the good things that complete happiness offers. This will only become reality when we all incorporate ourselves into the struggle for democratic change.

The signers of this declaration consider it a first step towards a definitive consolidation of the unity that will make possible an integral project for a new nation.

Look to the Cuban people with the objective of carrying out a nation project that represents the most longed for aspirations of its heroes and martyrs throughout its history.

In this quest we are inspired by our faith in a Higher Being, our love for our beloved Cuba, and deep and unequivocal patriotism; in addition, absolute respect for our flag, for our national anthem, for other patriotic symbols, and for the heroes and martyrs of our struggle for the liberty and independence of our country throughout the history.